We are drawn sometimes to things that at first seem to make no sense. Yet when we actually fulfill this act, the importance of doing so is only then revealed.
Walking the sacred pilgrimage trail around the Arunachala mountain was something I had wanted to do the moment I first read about it many years ago. The spiritual path of Ramana Marshi I knew was not mine but still something drew me too him and his advice that walking around the mountain was an important task to perform. It is certainly not an easy thing, and it cannot be taken lightly.
The circumambulation of Arunachala is known as Giri Pradakshina in
Sanskrit and Giri Valam in Tamil. Performing pradakshina of Arunachala
is considered to be beneficial in all ways.
Typically, pradakshina is done in bare feet, with the Hill on the
right. Sri Ramana Maharshi once explained the meaning of the word
pradakshina and how it should be done by a devotee: "The letter "Pra"
stands for removal of all kinds of sins; "da" stands for fulfilling the
desires; "kshi" stands for freedom from future births; "na" stands for
giving deliverance through jnana. If by way of Pradakshina you walk one
step it gives happiness in this world, two steps, it gives happiness in
heaven, three steps, it gives bliss of Satyaloka which can be attained.
One should go round either in mouna (silence) or dhyana (meditation) or
japa (repetition of Lord's name) or sankeertana (bhajan) and thereby
think of God all the time. Wikipedia
It is a 14 km trek and I knew that it would take me most certainly at least 2 hours or more, and when the sun came up it would get hot. When I left my little hotel it was pitch dark and cool. The time was just before 6. As soon as I stepped out the door I was greeted by a quiet dog, who came towards me with his tail wagging.
When I spoke to him he turned and then trotted ahead of me up the road leading out of the compound. A neighbor lady had just stepped out from her house and was using fine chalk powder to draw a simple mandala on her doorstep. It all seemed auspicious.
As I neared the main junction I became aware of a continuous parade of people moving up the main road that circles the mountain. Mostly silent and barefoot they moved at a gentle pace. I could not help but think that I too could do this. I just had to release my doubts and continue.
From time to time chants filled the air, coming from speakers beside the road. Sadhus in great number sat beside it. Some begging, some in trance, all adding to the exquisite atmosphere that permeated the air, the night, and the road in front of me.
What I learned only after completing the pilgrimage was that because of the full moon today was particularly auspicious. Until much later this evening the flow of humanity would not stop. It would at times fill the road and when you think simply there could no be more travelers, still more would come.
After 2 and a half hours I made my way back down the road to my hotel. The sun now up the atmosphere was more agitated but I was so incredibly grateful and peaceful within. The importance of completing this task now clear to me.
Later in the day my friends and I made the trek up to one of Sri Ramana Maharshi's early meditation caves. The path starts just behind the ashram.
There are little shrines along the way.
